Kindergarten through third-grade students were asked to draw pictures of their teachers performing an act of kindness in a University of British Columbia study. Of the students, 42 percent believed that teaching is an act of kindness. Other ways they perceive their teachers being kind is when they help them physically.

John Binfet, the author of the study, says, “The more students positively view their classroom and teachers, the better they’ll be engaged in lessons and learning.” Kindness studies like this could help inform teacher training and relationship building in school contexts.